Data Retention & Disposal Policy
Effective May 2026 · Reviewed annually
Purpose
This policy defines what data Cents retains, for how long, and how it is permanently deleted when you disconnect a bank account or close your account. Cents retains data only for as long as necessary to provide the service.
What we retain and for how long
Email address and hashed password
Duration of active account
Required to authenticate the user
Financial goals, income, and budget data
Duration of active account
Core application functionality
Plaid access token
Until bank is disconnected or account is closed
Required for read-only bank connectivity; deleted and revoked on disconnect
Bank institution name and Plaid account IDs
Until bank is disconnected or account is closed
Required to identify connected accounts; deleted on disconnect
Latest account balances, account names, and last 4 digits
Refreshed when the bank reports new activity; deleted on disconnect or account closure
Used to display current balances and label which account paid; not retained as historical data
Transactions imported from a connected bank
Until that bank is disconnected or the account is closed
Shows what you can spend and where your money goes, and double-checks purchases you log; deleted on disconnect
Purchases and income you log yourself
Until you delete them or close your account
Core application functionality
Earned collectible metadata
Duration of active account
Application feature; no financial data involved
Remembered devices (only if you tick “Remember this device”)
90 days, then the device must enter a code again
Lets that browser skip the emailed code; we store only a hash of a random token kept in a secure cookie, plus the browser name
Premium subscription status (Stripe customer ID, plan, renewal date)
Duration of active account
Needed to know whether bank syncing is on. Payment card details are held by Stripe, never by Cents
Bank history after Premium ends
Until you delete it (Accounts page) or close your account
Banks are disconnected at Plaid when Premium ends; purchases already imported stay so your history keeps working. Deletable anytime
Budget settings (pay schedule, rollover, bank check on/off)
Until you change them or close your account
Decides when your budget resets and how “left to spend” is worked out
Time zone and weekly recap preference
Until you change them or close your account
So the opt-in Sunday recap email arrives on your Sunday. Off by default; every email has a one-click unsubscribe
Password reset link (hash only)
Maximum 1 hour; deleted on use
Lets you choose a new password; only a hash of the emailed link is stored
One-time login code (OTP)
Maximum 10 minutes; deleted immediately on use or expiry
Single-use authentication; never retained after verification
What we never store
- ✗Bank usernames or passwords
- ✗Full account numbers or routing numbers
- ✗Card numbers or CVVs
- ✗Balance history over time
- ✗Social Security Numbers or government-issued identification
How deletion works
Disconnecting a bank account
When you disconnect a bank, we first call Plaid's itemRemove API to revoke the connection at Plaid's end, then delete the Plaid access token, account details, balances, and every transaction imported from that bank. Purchases you logged yourself are kept, with any bank details removed. If Plaid can't be reached, nothing is deleted and you're asked to try again, so a connection is never left active without a way to remove it.
Closing your account
Email jonathanfarhat@gmail.comto request full account deletion. All data — goals, budget, income, transactions, Plaid connections, and collectibles — is permanently deleted within 5 business days. You'll receive an email confirmation when it's done.
Backups
Our database provider (NeonDB) retains automated backups for 30 days. After that window, deleted data is permanently and unrecoverably purged. Cents does not maintain any independent backups.
Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, or delete any personal data Cents holds about you. Submit any request to jonathanfarhat@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days.
Last updated May 2026 · Cents by Jonathan Farhat